Seven days into his presidency, it appears that Barack Obama is not wasting time. His first week in office saw a whirlwind of activity on a range of issues. Among other accomplishments, a flurry of moves on national security led the Washington Post to declare that George W. Bush’s “War on Terror” has “come to an end”. Here’s a quick recap of what Obama has been up to.

-Citing a need to tighten belts across America, Obama issued a pay freeze on White House staff earning more than $100,000 a year. (msnbc.com)

-Issued a memorandum to government agencies ordering them to approach the Freedom of Information Act with a “clear presumption: in the face of doubt, openness prevails”. (George W. Bush had previously order agencies to “disclose information only after considering all possible reasons to withhold it”.) (Electronic Frontiers Foundation)

-Emerged victorious from a highly publicized battle with Homeland Security and the Presidential Records Act to keep his BlackBerry. (Guardian.co.uk)

-Reaffirmed campaign statements expressing a willingness to engage in direct negotiations with Iran without preconditions. (WhiteHouse.gov)

-Signed an executive order to close the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay within one year and ordered a task force to review the intelligence and information on each detainee and determine whether they can be released or put on trial. (Los Angeles Times)

-Signed an executive order to shut down the CIA’s networks of secret ”˜ghost prisons’ where alleged members of al-Qaeda were held without trial and reportedly tortured. (Guardian.co.uk)

-Signed an executive order directing the CIA to follow the U.S. army field manual on interrogations, which bars such techniques as waterboarding and other forms of torture. (New York Times)

-Nullified every legal order and opinion on interrogations issued by any lawyer in the executive branch between September 11, 2001, and January 20, 2009. (Washington Post)

-Issued an executive order to lift a ban on federal funding for foreign family planning agencies that promote or give information about abortion. Aid agencies welcomed the move, saying it would promote women's health, especially in developing countries. (BBC News)

-Signed a pair of Presidential Memoranda aimed at weaning the U.S. off of foreign oil. The first memorandum directed the Department of Transportation to establish higher fuel efficiency standards for carmakers' 2011 model year. The second paved the way for California and 12 other states to raise emissions standards above national standards. (White House blog)

-Sent a message to the Arab world: Obama gave his first, formal, sit-down interview as president of the United States to al-Arabiya, a Dubai-based satellite network that broadcasts to the Middle East. (Washington Post, Time Magazine)

This list is not comprehensive. Readers are encouraged to add to it in the comments section below, or point out where Obama has so far fallen short of expectations.

You can follow Travis Lupick on Twitter at twitter.com/tlupick.